Saskatchewan NDP Vote Against Small Business

The Saskatchewan NDP stood in the Legislature to vote against government legislation designed to allow small businesses to pay less tax on more income. Earlier this month, the government introduced legislation that would increase the small business income threshold to $600,000. By raising the income threshold, small businesses have greater incentive to hire more workers, and invest in new capital right here in Saskatchewan.

“Small business accounts for 98% of all business in Saskatchewan and drives a large part of our province’s economic activity,” said Eric Olauson, MLA for Saskatoon University.

“Our government recognizes and appreciates the huge contribution small business owners make to Saskatchewan; that’s why our government enacted these changes – it is disappointing the NDP voted against these measures and against small business owners,” Olauson said.

Over the summer, the federal government proposed changes to income taxes, claiming that a “large percentage” of small businesses are merely a vehicle for wealthy Canadians to save on taxes. Our government stood with Saskatchewan’s entrepreneurs in opposing these changes and writing the federal Finance Minister to reconsider these detrimental changes. Unfortunately, the NDP did not oppose these changes.

In fact, NDP MP Erin Weir questioned the need for individuals like doctors and farmers to incorporate at all, ignoring the fact that the federal changes as originally proposed would have made it virtually impossible for family farms to be passed on from one generation to the next.

“The NDP’s failure to stand up for Saskatchewan businesses on a number of fronts is starting to pile up. This vote against legislation which seeks to help small businesses is just one more example of the NDP being completely out of touch with hard working women and men in Saskatchewan,” said Olauson. “We could not be more disappointed that the NDP are also in favour of a carbon tax which would hurt small businesses even more.”

On November 29th 2017, forty-six Saskatchewan Party MLAs, led by Premier Brad Wall, voted in favour of the bill to amend the Income Tax Act, 2000 restoring the general corporate business tax rate to 12%, and raising the small business income threshold to $600,000, the highest in Canada. All 11 NDP MLAs voted against these improvements to the provincial tax system that would strengthen Saskatchewan’s small business climate.

These measures build upon our government’s record of creating one of the strongest investment climates in Canada, achieving the province’s first-ever Aaa credit rating, and among the strongest job and wage growth in Canada over the last decade.

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